Something went wrong, it’s going to be a disaster, etc.. Stuff always goes wrong. Don’t panic, when things go wrong be a problem solver, not a problem identifier.
There are a number of things you can do to mitigate the problem’s impact and, when you have everything under control, there are some things you can do to understand what happened. Hopefully, when things go wrong again, and they will, you will be prepared.
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If something goes wrong:
- Keep your perspective. Crisis management isn’t hard if you remember that it’s only (insert your industry here). It’s unlikely that your world is ending so take a deep breath, everyone will appreciate your calm leadership and go about solving the immediate problem.
- Ask “why” five times. It will take that many attempts to get to the real reason things went astray. Try asking “why” five times the next time there is a colossal screw up. Each time you ask “why” another layer gets peeled away and you get closer to understanding what really caused the problem. The truth is in there but you will have to dig for it.
- Don’t point fingers. Playing the blame game doesn’t help anybody. The responsible parties understand their culpability. Having someone point it out just aggravates them and usually the situation. It also makes it hard for the folks closest to the problem to believe their contribution to solving the problem will be appreciated.
- Break the problem into chunks. Problems, especially if they are significant, are more easily solved when you look at the piece parts. Smaller chunks are much easier to understand and to deal with.
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